Return the Favor
by mandyTbickerson
Summary: She had pulled more than a few bullets from him. What about the time he returned the favor?


**So I'm on a fic writing spree. Mixed feelings about this one. I had hoped for more of a Biggie/Helen friendship story but turned into more Helen/Ashley... oh well.**

**I wrote part of it at work and finished the rest at home. While I could barely keep my eyes open... so mistakes and poor writing choices are bound to occur.**

**Reviews are always welcome, thanks for reading :)**

Helen groaned as she pulled herself from the ground. Pained flared in her side and she knew more than a couple ribs had been bruised, if not broken. She looked up to see Ashley still trying to bring down the abnormal they hunted. She groaned again as she got to her feet.

"Mom! You okay?" Ashely glanced at her mother but remained focused on the task at hand.

"I'll be fine."

Helen pulled her gun out and leveled it at the large, reptile like creature before her. She emptied her clip and the creature finally stumbled and fell, defeated.

"What'd you hit it with?" Ashley asked, cautiously checking to see the abnormal had really been subdued.

"A new tranquilizer formula I've been working on. It seems to have done the trick, though my ribs would have appreciated it working just a bit earlier." She winced as she smiled and Ashley smiled back.

"Not as fast as you were in the good ol' days." Ashley smirked as she walked closer to her mother. "Still not bad for 151 yea-"

Ashley was cut short by the sound of rapid gun fire. She yelped as she was dragged to the ground, out of harms way. She felt her mother drop down next to her as they waited for the assault to stop.

It did not take Helen long to realize something was wrong. The shots had rang out and her first instinct was to protect Ashley. She pushed her aside and pulled her to the ground where they both crouched for cover. She had made to reach for her gun and stand up when pained hit her hard. It felt her like her shoulder was on fire and her leg was warm, something wet quickly spreading down it.

She had been hit. Twice.

She struggled to move to see who their assailants were and saw two men running toward them, one holding a gun pointed directly at the pair of them.

"Ashley!" She had meant it as a warning but it came out a frantic plea. Her daughter was already aiming her own gun at the man who had shot her mother.

"Mom, you okay?" There was definite panic in her voice now. Mom was hit but still alive. Two assailants, one armed. The latter was her first priority. She could do little to help her mother if their immediate threat was not taken care of. The man not holding a gun raised his hands and spoke to her.

"Look, we're just here for the monster, we'll just take it and be on our way."

"You shot my mom." Ashley cocked her gun, her finger on the trigger.

"Ashley, please." Helen had got herself to a semi standing position, her left leg refusing to support her weight. "My name is Helen Magnus. And this creature you referred to as a monster will be coming home with me."

The man with the gun laughed as the other spoke again.

"Listen, lady. I don't really care who you are, but this _thing_ belongs to me. And as much as I don't want to shoot you and your daughter here, I will if you try anything."

Helen was starting to feel dizzy. _Blood loss, _she thought. If she didn't stop the bleeding soon, she was going to pass out.

"Well than, it seems we have reached an impasse." Helen smiled slightly and with every effort she got to her feet. "Because I am not leaving here without it."

"And I really wouldn't try arguing with her, she never loses." Ashley shrugged a bit, trying to mask the worry in her face.

"Shoot them."

Before the gun wielding man could even think about firing his weapon Ashley had fired several rounds from her own, killing both men. She knew her mother preferred them not to kill when possible, but Ashley preferred to shoot first and ask questions later.

Helen gasped in pain again, her leg buckling under her weight. She was in trouble now. Her breathing had become labored and she felt as though she may faint at any moment. She felt something squeeze her leg and cried out.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I have to stop the bleeding. Oh God, mom. We have to get you home." Ashley stooped down and wrapped her arm around her mother's waist. Helen tried her best to walk but Ashley mostly dragged her back to the van.

"Ashley, wait! The abnormal." Helen spoke through gritted teeth. She did not get shot for nothing. "We can't leave without it."

"Mom, I think we can let this one go. You're in pretty rough shape." Ashley had opened the passenger door and was practically shoving Helen into the seat.

"Please..." Helen no longer had a scolding tone which was never a good sign.

"Alright. Stay put. I'll be _right _back." Ashley closed the door, muttering curses under her breath. "_So freaking stubborn."_

It would have been much quicker with two people but Ashley managed to drag the lizard thing to the van and restrain it in the back. She got in the driver's seat and floored it all the way back home. Her mother's breaths were growing slower but at least they were still there. She had lost so much blood and they were still at least 8 minutes away.

Ashley hadn't been this frightened in a very long time.

* * *

_Ashley was running through a dark wood. Shadows danced through the trees and she wanted her mother. But she couldn't find her anywhere._

_Monsters peaked from behind trees and she screamed for her mother to find her. She tripped over a branch and stumbled to the ground, turning just in time for something with long sharp claws to reach out and grab her._

"_Mummy!"_

_She woke with such a gasp, her small form trembling. She peered around her room and quickly got out of bed._

_She ran down the hall and quietly opened the door to her mother's bedroom. She walked slowly toward the bed. She knew how mummy sometimes had bad dreams too and she did not want to frighten her._

"_Mummy" She whispered. When there was no answer she climbed into her mother's bed and pulled her arms around her. Helen stirred and Ashley felt the arms tighten around her._

"_Mummy, I'm afraid."_

_Ashley nuzzled her head against her mother._

"_It's alight, I've got you. I'll never let anything hurt you."_

* * *

Ashley pulled in the gates and into the loading dock where Henry and Biggie were waiting for her. She had called them before to let them know Mom was hurt and she had a dangerous abnormal in need of a new home.

She jumped out of the van and ran to open the passenger door.

"She got hit twice. I don't know if anything important was damaged but she's lost a lot of blood."

Biggie came over and easily picked Helen up in his arms. She did not stir nor make any sound.

"I've got her. You and Henry deal with that." He grunted toward the van, turned and quickly left for the infirmary. He looked down at the woman he held so carefully and could not help but think of the first time they met. She had pulled several bullets from him and had been kinder and more welcoming than any other person he had known. Her chest rose and fell with steady breaths, though they were far too shallow for his liking.

They reached the infirmary and he gently laid her down on a bed. He inserted an IV and began to extract the bullets.

It did not take long. The one in her shoulder had gone all the way through so he did not have to worry about retrieving the bullet. The one in her leg was embedded deep and he was thankful she was not conscious during the extraction.

He had started stitching her leg when she finally started to wake, the fluids from the IV doing their job.

She groaned loudly. "Bloody hell."

"Lie still." He grunted. "Almost finished."

She opened her eyes and watched as he bandaged the wound on her leg, hissing in pain every time he touched it. He walked away for a second and returned with a small cup with several small pills in it.

"For the pain." He grunted, forcing them into her hand. She took them without protest, the pain something she would rather not feel at the moment. She looked up to him but he would not meet her eye.

She reached out and gently grasped his hand. She did not get hurt often, but when she did they all worried.

"Thank you, old friend."

He turned and looked her, a twinkle in his eye.

"Thought it was time to return the favor."

She smiled at him. The painkillers were already starting to work. She suspected there was something more than just saline in the IV in her arm. But it was okay. She was okay. She'd live to fight another day. She'd see her daughter grow up.

She was okay.

_1 week later_

Helen had been _allowed_ to leave the infirmary but was in strict instructions to "take it easy". Something she had never been good at.

Henry had made every excuse to "report" things to her. A rouse she knew was just him checking in on her.

Ashley had been extremely chatty and overly cheerful. Something she did whenever she was hiding feelings of fear or worry. She had spent a few nights in her mother's bed.

And her old friend had been so watchful over her, she could not have over done anything had she wanted.

One morning Biggie had entered Helen's bedroom with a morning tea tray only to find she was not yet awake.

Ashley was curled up, sound asleep with her mother's uninjured arm wrapped snuggly around her. Helen rested her head on her daughter's and they both looked so peaceful in their slumber. He chuckled and shook his head. He had been very lucky the day he met Helen Magnus.

And it turned out she was pretty lucky to have him around too.


End file.
